They came into the weekend in first place, their 4-0 opening rout of Newcastle United vaulting them top on goal difference. Today in Wales, a second straight win to start their season should see 2011-12 champions Manchester City resume their place atop the Premier League table, with newly promoted Cardiff City standing in the way of Manuel Pellegrini’s perfect, six-point start.

As much as Edin Dzeko, Fernandinho, or Jesus Navas were on the pitch, Pellegrini was the star off it, his fingerprints all over the running start City made at the Etihad on Monday night. Goals from David Silva, Sergio Agüero, Yaya Touré, and Samir Nasri were the product of a typical Pellegrini-esque approach, the team’s 4-4-2 seeing Touré and Fernandinho control, Navas and Silva probe, while Agüero and Dzeko pushed.

On paper, it’s all a bit too much for most teams, let alone the Bluebirds, but playing their first home game in the Premier League, Cardiff City could have emotion on their side. And with two extra days’ rest, they could also have a fitness edge, though City’s deep squad and five days off should render that edge useless.

Last week at Upton Park, Cardiff began Premier League life with a 2-0 loss to West Ham United – a tepid performance in which Malky Mackay’s side only put one shot on target despite being ceded most of the game’s possession. Cardiff’s four attacking players — Fraizer Campbell, Craig Bellamy, Kim Bo-Kyong, and Peter Whittingham — combined for nine shots, but none of them tested Jussi Jääskeläinen.

That attack gets a major break today with the absence of Vincent Kompany. The City captain and central defender left Monday’s came with a groin strain that will sideline him three-to-four weeks. With the team’s other first choice center back Matija Nastasić and potential cover Micah Richards also out, Pellegrini turns to Joleon Lescott and Javi Garcia in central defense. Lescott is an accomplished English international (no problem there), but Garcia is a natural midfielder being pressed into service.

Depending on how Cardiff play, having Garcia’s distribution in central defense could be a bonus. If, however, City gets caught with both Touré and Fernandinho going forward from central midfield, an exposed weakness could be Cardiff’s route to an upset.

If Cardiff gets a surprise three points, it will be a nearly unchanged side that does so. Mackay returns 10 players from the team that started against West Ham, with only Andrew Taylor coming in for Declan John at left back.

For City, only Kompany’s absences keeps this from being an unchanged side.

If you’re not within Tottenham vs. Swansea on NBCSN, head over to NBC Sports Live Extra to check out streaming options for today’s match in Wales, one that kicks off at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

HOUSTON (AP) Stanford got off to a rough start this year, but rebounded in a season where everyone wanted to take the Cardinal down to make it back to the College Cup.

After winning the first national championship in program history last season, No. 5 Stanford continues its title defense in the second semifinal on Friday night against No. 9 North Carolinas. In the first semifinal, No. 2 Wake Forest faces undefeated No. 6 Denver.

Stanford had with three ties and a loss in its first six games before winning 13 of its next 16 games to win a third straight Pac-12 championship and return to the College Cup.

“I think it was kind of a wakeup call seeing how hard we were going to get played and I think we adapted to that as the season progressed,” said defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce, who was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last month.

Stanford hopes to become the first team since Indiana in 2003-04 to win consecutive national championships. Coach Jeremy Gunn’s team is the first to return to the College Cup the season after winning the national championship since Wake Forest returned in 2008 after winning it all in 2007.

Stanford lost some key players from last season, including MLS Rookie of the Year and the reigning Hermann Trophy winner Jordan Morris. But it returns six starters from last season’s team. Five of those players were named to the All-Pac-12 first team last month, and one was on the second team.

“We had some great players leave after last year and I think some people wanted to write us off this year,” Gunn said.

Stanford is led by Co-Pac-12 player of the year Foster Langsdorf. The junior forward has led the team’s attack this season, scoring 15 goals, including one in each of Stanford’s three tournament games. In their 10 Pac-12 games, Langsdorf scored 12 goals.

North Carolina comes to Houston for its first College Cup appearance since winning a national championship in 2011. The Tar Heels also reached the national semifinals in 2009-10.

Some things to know about the College Cup.

H-TOWN CONNECTION: The Tar Heels come to Houston with many connections to the area. Three Houston Dynamo players, defenders Jalil Anibaba and Sheanon Williams and goalkeeper Tyler Deric, played at North Carolina, while head coach Carlos Somoano is from nearby Seabrook, Texas. The Tar Heels leading scorer, Tucker Hume, said players from the Dynamo have reached out to them and that they’ll be at Friday’s game.

“My formative soccer years and experiences were done right here in Houston,” Somoano said. “So for me it’s very special to be back here.”

YOUTH MOVEMENT: After losing key players from last season, including three who were selected in the top 12 of the MLS SuperDraft, North Carolina has had to rely on its youth in 2016. The Tar Heels have 12 players who have appeared in all 20 games this season, six of whom are either freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore forward Nils Bruening leads the team in goals with eight, while redshirt sophomore goalkeeper James Pyle has allowed just 10 goals this season.

“They’ve been a bit of a revelation for us,” Somoano said. “It’s just fascinating to see how they evolve through the year. They’re not the same players now than they were in August.”

FAMILIAR FACES: Denver head coach Jamie Franks and Wake Forest’s Bobby Muuss have plenty of history. Muuss was an assistant coach for the Demon Deacons during Franks’ freshman season in Winston-Salem and was the coach at Denver from 2007-14, with Franks serving as his assistant for three seasons. When Muuss took over at Wake Forest before the 2015 season, Franks took his place at Denver.

“I love Wake Forest . but at the end of the day, these are my boys,” Franks said. “These are my kids, and Wake Forest is standing in our way.

WAKE EYES REDEMPTION: Last season, Wake Forest was the No. 1 team in the country with a 17-2-2 record before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual national champions Stanford in overtime. This season, the Demon Deacons enter the College Cup with an 18-2-3 mark with a pair of shutouts in wins over Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech.

DOMINANCE REWARDED: Since Franks took over as the Denver head coach, the Pioneers have lost just one game, a defeat to SMU that ended the 2015 season. The team feels its 35-1-6 record under Franks it has not received enough credit, mostly because the Pioneers play in the Summit League. This is Denver’s first appearance in the College Cup and the players are embracing their underdog role.

“It’s more a historical thing than an actual thing because no one in our locker room is surprised to be here, we expected to be here,” sophomore forward Andre Shinyashiki said.

LONDON (AP) Police overseeing the sex abuse scandal in British soccer say 83 potential suspects have been identified and linked to 98 clubs.

Officers across the country are sifting through 639 referrals received by both police and a helpline established last month when former players started going public to say they were abused by coaches while in youth teams.